TOKYO: Recently appointed Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr emphasized the ‘exceptional’ nature of the relationship between the two countries over the last 70 years.
He expressed his belief that the next 70 years will be even more significant, as both nations strive to diversify beyond the traditional anchors of their relationship, foreseeing a future of mutual prosperity and growth.
Dr. Binzagr’s remarks were made during a press conference for Japanese media and was organized by Arab News Japan and was held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan on Friday.
It was held on the occasion of the conclusion of last week’s Saudi Japan Business Forum, which was attended by prominent Saudi ministers and business executives.
Describing the way forward as ‘an evolution of priorities’, Ambassador Binzagr highlighted the potential of the new relationship in exploring new sources of energy that will benefit both countries. He emphasized the importance of asserting their relevance in new global realities, which, he believes, will involve working together to co-create values in emerging technologies, as well as elements of soft power such as sports and entertainment.
There has always been a tremendous interest in Japan in Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Binzagr said, stemming from the products Japan produced and exported to the world but now “including softer products such as anime that have had a profound effect on a rising curiosity from a whole generation in Saudi Arabia that is increasingly choosing Japan as a destination to visit.”
Dr. Binzagr highlighted the deep appeal of Japanese culture to the youth of Saudi Arabia, not just at a superficial level, but at a profound level that has sparked a desire to visit and study in Japan, to learn Japanese and understand the history and culture of the country. He expressed his belief that this cultural dimension will be an additional pillar in the already strong relationship between the two nations, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other’s cultures.
The Ambassador hopes that a reciprocal feeling will develop within the Japanese to learn more about Saudi Arabia but admits that the desired level hasn’t been reached yet. Now, he says, Saudi Vision 2030 has opened the doors to tourists and allowed Japanese and others the opportunity to discover more about the history and culture of the Kingdom.
Ambassador Binzagr reiterated the importance of strong, sustainable relations that are built on shared interests and values. He emphasized that both Saudi Arabia and Japan share a strong commitment to global peace and the significance of robust multilateral institutions.
This shared commitment, he believes, will not only ensure the stability of their relations but also pave the way for further decades of friendly and fruitful collaboration between the two nations.
Saudi Ambassador to Japan outlines growth opportunity in bilateral ties
https://arab.news/ckm2b
Saudi Ambassador to Japan outlines growth opportunity in bilateral ties
- Dr. Binzagr expressed his belief that the next 70 years will be even more significant
- He highlighted the deep appeal of Japanese culture to the youth of Saudi Arabia
Trump says Americans must ‘never forget’ October 7 attacks in Israel
- Trump says October 7 attack 'would never have happened' if he was president
MIAMI: Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump warned Monday that Americans should “never forget” the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas militants as he paid tribute to the victims at a campaign event.
“We can never forget the nightmare of that day,” Trump told a crowd of a few hundred at an event at his Trump National Doral Golf Club in southern Florida to commemorate the first anniversary of the attacks, claiming that “the October 7 attack would never have happened if I was president.”
Arrests at Amsterdam pro-Palestinian protest near Oct. 7 event
- Away from Amsterdam, pro-Palestinian protesters staged sit-ins at several stations around the country
AMSTERDAM: Police arrested several pro-Palestinian protesters in Amsterdam Monday, as tensions erupted around events in the city to mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
Riot officers carrying shields and batons deployed in force in the Dutch capital as people gathered in the Dam central square to mourn those killed one year ago.
While the pro-Israeli group was listening to speeches and concerts, counter-demonstrators began to shout slogans.
Police grabbed one middle-aged woman and hauled her into an armored van, an AFP journalist on the ground witnessed.
Nearby, police surrounded several dozen pro-Palestinian demonstrators with faces covered and waving flags, to keep them separated from the Israeli gathering.
Police warned them to disperse but later announced they had arrested the group “for breaking the law on public gatherings.”
French tourists Myriam Acef, 23, and Ines Khraroubu, 21, told AFP: “We were there right at the beginning but we only stayed a bit because we quickly saw the police were surrounding everyone.”
“We were pushed around a bit with shields and we were stuck for around 20-30 minutes,” Acef said.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof and other top Dutch political leaders were attending commemorations in an Amsterdam synagogue to mark the October 7 attack.
Away from Amsterdam, pro-Palestinian protesters staged sit-ins at several stations around the country.
The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The attackers took 251 people hostage into Gaza, where 97 are still being held, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Hours later, Israel launched a military offensive that has razed swathes of Gaza and displaced nearly all of its 2.4 million residents at least once amid an unrelenting humanitarian crisis.
According to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, 41,909 Palestinians, the majority civilians, have been killed there since the start of the war. Those figures have been deemed reliable by the United Nations.
Harris says would not meet Putin if Ukraine wasn’t represented
- Harris meanwhile said she would deal with Ukraine’s bid to join the NATO military alliance “if and when it arrives at that point”
WASHINGTON: Democratic White House hopeful Kamala Harris said in an interview broadcast Monday that if elected president she would not meet with Vladimir Putin for peace talks if Ukraine was not also represented.
“Not bilaterally without Ukraine, no. Ukraine must have a say in the future of Ukraine,” the US vice president told CBS’s “60 Minutes” program when asked if she would meet one-on-one with the Russian leader to negotiate an end to the war.
President Joe Biden’s administration has previously rejected any talks with Putin.
Harris also reiterated her criticisms of Republican rival Donald Trump’s policies on Ukraine, describing them as a “surrender” to the invasion Moscow launched in February 2022.
Trump has previously been critical of Washington’s massive military and financial aid for Ukraine and insisted that he could quickly reach a peace deal with Putin.
“Donald Trump, if he were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now. He talks about, ‘Oh, he can end it on day one.’ You know what that is? It’s about surrender,” she said.
Kyiv fears such a deal would involve ceding to Russia the territory in eastern Ukraine that it has captured since the invasion.
Harris meanwhile said she would deal with Ukraine’s bid to join the NATO military alliance “if and when it arrives at that point.”
Clashes erupt at Albania anti-government protest
TIRANA: Clashes broke out late Monday in Tirana between police and opposition protesters seeking that longtime leftist Prime Minister Edi Rama resigns, leaving 10 officers injured police said.
A few thousand people gathered in the Albanian capital at demonstrations organized by the country’s right-wing opposition, according to an AFP reporter.
Scuffles first broke out in front of the government building when demonstrators tried to break through a police cordon and some of them threw Molotov cocktails.
The crowd then moved toward the headquarters of Rama’s Socialist Party where more Molotov cocktails were thrown, setting on fire the entrance door and a banner with the prime minister’s image, the AFP journalist reported.
The protesters, who want Rama to step down and a caretaker government to take over until next year’s parliamentary elections, also targeted the interior ministry headquarters and the city hall with Molotov cocktails. A bus station and several garbage containers were set on fire.
Police, deployed in large numbers, used teargas in a bid to disperse the crowd moving toward the parliament.
“So far 10 police officers have been injured in the attacks with Molotov cocktails, pyrotechnics and solid objects,” a police statement said.
Meanwhile, according to the AFP reporter at least three demonstrators were mildly injured by Molotov cocktails during the nearly four-hour protest.
Police urged the demonstrators to stop attacking them and state institutions, warning that measures were being taken to identify those involved in the attacks.
“This is the first step toward civil disobedience,” Flamur Noka, an official of the main opposition Democratic Party, told reporters in front of the party’s headquarter.
“We will continue our battle of civil disobedience until Rama resigns and a caretaker government is formed,” he said.
The protest was held a week after opposition lawmakers threw their chairs out of parliament and set them on fire in protest at a prison sentence handed to one of their peers.
Ervin Salianji, an official of the Democratic Party, in September was found guilty of “giving false testimony” in a drug trafficking case that targeted the brother of a lawmaker of the ruling Socialist Party.
The opposition described the MP’s arrest and conviction as a “blind act of revenge and political terror against the Democratic Party,” accusing Rama of being behind it.
Democratic Party leader and former prime minister Sali Berisha said earlier that Monday’s protests would be the “battle of our lives.”
Berisha has been under house arrest since December last year on charges of “passive corruption.”
He has rejected the accusations against him as politically motivated.
US says Russia denying access to citizen jailed for fighting in Ukraine
- Stephen Hubbard, 72, was arrested more than two years ago and sentenced on Monday by a Moscow court for fighting for Kyiv
WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday criticized Russia for withholding consular access for a detained American, accused of being a “mercenary” for Ukraine and sentenced to nearly seven years in prison.
Stephen Hubbard, 72, was arrested more than two years ago and sentenced on Monday by a Moscow court for fighting for Kyiv.
“We have limited information available about this case because Russia has refused to grant consular access,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Calling on Moscow to grant American diplomats access to Hubbard, as “they have an obligation” to do, Miller added the US government was “considering our next steps.”
Hubbard has been in custody since April 2022, though his case only became public on September 27, when his trial — largely held behind closed doors — began in Moscow.
He was sentenced to six years and ten months in prison, convicted of “participating as a mercenary in the armed conflict.”
Russia has not said where he had been detained.
The United States says he was detained in Ukraine.
Russia has recently detained and tried a number of US citizens, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has since been released in a prisoner swap.
Washington accuses Moscow of arbitrarily detaining Americans in order to use them for prisoner exchanges.
